Bluelining crew

Sports stats



CHL Central Hockey League

Bluelining crew

by Mike Wallin
January 6, 2003 - Central Hockey League (CHL)


A key ingredient to winning hockey championships is having a stellar defense. This year's version of the Indianapolis Ice has a group of six players who have formed a rock solid defense. The group has not only been stellar, but may be the best the Central Hockey League has to offer.

Bernie John, Nate Elliott, Byron Pool, Ryan Aikia, Scott Lewis and Kevin Popp form Indy's "bluelining crew". A complete mix of offense, stay at home defense, grit and toughness define this unit.

"We all have a lot of confidence and complement each other so well," said Aikia. "It's all about Ken McRae's teaching. He really knows what he is talking about and all of us have learned so much from him."

Aikia, John and Scott Lewis are regarded as offensive defensemen as they are ready to jump into the offensive fray at any time if the game. Through the first half of the 2002-2003 season, John, 31 points (6G-25A), Aikia, 14 points (2G, 12 A) and Lewis, 8 points (3G, 5A) have led the blueliners in offense.

"We have to be able to contribute offensively," said Lewis. "That's not our main responsibility though. Doing the small things to protect the puck and having good plus/minus ratings is what we are about."

The small things have been adding up for this unit all year. Indy's "bluelining crew" looks after their own zone and protects netminders Shawn Silver and Jamie Morris.

"The key is to get the puck off the boards and out of our zone," said Nate Elliott. "If we keep quality shots to a minimum, we'll have success because we have two great goalies in Shawn and Jamie."

Byron Pool and Kevin Popp know they are being counted on as enforcers, however their roles are much deeper.

"We're going to be there for the guys and watch out for Shawn and Jamie, but we have to remain disciplined," said Popp. "Taking foolish penalties is only going to hurt us in the end. We have to play aggressive and keep guys away from the net, but we have to be smart about it."

Disciplined and smart is exactly what this "bluelining crew" is all about. Last years Indianapolis Ice team led the CHL in penalty minutes. Through the first half of 2002-2003, the Ice have just 582 penalty minutes, fewest in the Central Hockey League.

"That's what we have to do," said Aikia. "We all play for each other on this team. Anyone of us will dive in front of a shot at anytime and yes, we'll be there for each other, but in a smart way."

This crew strikingly resembles the defensive unit the Ice had in place down the stretch of 2000. That unit helped carry Indianapolis into the playoffs where the Ice eventually won the CHL Championship.

"We are a very close knit team with a close knit defense," said Bernie John. "Guys are realizing that we have something special here. The guys we have on defense have all committed to taking care of our end of the rink. It's really nice that we are all playing for the same cause."

The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central.

• Discuss this story on the Central Hockey League message board...

Central Hockey League Stories from January 6, 2003


The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central